World War II Honoree

Louis G. Charlo

Branch of Service

U.S. Marine Corps

Hometown

Evaro, Montana

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private First Class. On November 21, 1943, he entered the United States Marine Corps from Montana, receiving his Boot Camp Training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. Later he completed his Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, California. Served in Company-F as a Rifleman, Second Battalion, Twenty-Eighth Marine Regiment, and a subordinate unit of the Fifth Marine ‘the Spearhead/Fighting Fifth’ Division in the Western Pacific Theater of Operations. His division participated in the amphibious assault against the Imperial Japanese Army and Naval forces on the Volcanic Island of Iwo Jima (Battle Dates: February 19-March 26, 1945) Code Name: Operation Detachment. Killed in Action Friday, March 2, 1945 and buried in the Fifth Marine Division battlefield cemetery on Iwo. After the cessation of hostilities with Japan, his remains were returned to his family for Burial, with interment at the Saint Ignatius Catholic Cemetery in Saint Ignatius, Montana. This American Patriot, a Native Indian citizen, a descendant of the Flathead Tribe was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.